Project Slated As Latest Residential High-Rise to Change the City's Skyline
A 25-story residential tower with roughly 305 residential units is planned to rise at 850 S. Hill St. in downtown Los Angeles. L.A.'s city council approved plans on May 3 to lure 100,000 new residential units to be built in the city's urban core by 2040. (CoStar)
By Jack Witthaus CoStar News May 5, 2023 | 1:48 P.M.
A high-rise residential project in downtown Los Angeles is taking another step closer to breaking ground, adding more housing in L.A.'s busiest multifamily construction market.
Dallas developer Trammell Crow Residential has sought multiple building permits to start construction on a 25-story, mixed-use tower with ground floor retail space and 305 units, according to city of Los Angeles records. The developer bought the project site at 850 S. Hill St. in March for $26.2 million, the records show.
The tower is the latest residential high-rise to reshape downtown L.A.'s skyline. Downtown Los Angeles has seen a surge in residential construction in the past decade and is witnessing roughly 2,860 units under construction, the most of any market in greater L.A., according to CoStar data. Roughly 15,000 new residential units have been added in downtown L.A. since 2010, according to city of Los Angeles records.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles City Council approved on Wednesday the DTLA 2040 plan which aims to lure roughly 100,000 new residential units in downtown Los Angeles through 2040, according to city documents. Those units would be around 20% of the city's overall housing growth that's expected to happen through 2040. Currently, there are roughly 38,000 apartment units in downtown Los Angeles, according to CoStar data.
Demand Softening
That said, the downtown residential market has softened in recent months with vacancy growing 98% year over year to 11.3%, according to CoStar data. That's well above the greater L.A. average of 4.5%. Average rents in downtown Los Angeles also have fallen from $2,823 one year ago to $2,759 today.
Still, those market conditions may improve in the years ahead as Trammell Crow builds out the project, said Ryan Patap, senior director of market analytics in CoStar Group's Los Angeles office.
"Current conditions are less relevant to their decision making," Patap said.
The Alexan apartment brand is nothing new to California or Los Angeles. The 644-unit Alexan NoHo West is expected to wrap up construction this year after leasing to residents starting in 2021, according to CoStar data.
Trammell Crow Residential is one of the largest apartment developers in the U.S. The company has built more than 280,000 apartment units since it was founded in 1977, according to its LinkedIn.
A Trammell Crow Residential representative didn't respond to a request to comment from CoStar News.
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